Are there any rules to suggest that riders and their mounts don't have independent saving throws?
–
okeefeJan 4 '13 at 19:41

1

@okeefe I can't find any rules that suggest one way or the other. This is focused on Reflex saves, seeing as the definition of Reflex is something along the lines of 'moving out of the way'. If the mount moves but the rider still gets hit... realism clashes with game mechanics.
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Phill.ZittJan 4 '13 at 19:57

3

Since when does 3.5 care about logical sense? Unless there are rules about this, which I can't find anywhere (which doesn't mean they don't exist), I would assume that the rider and mount are independent for 1-3.
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okeefeJan 4 '13 at 20:01

1

Ask separate questions separately, unless there's a critical reason they must be asked together. Asking questions is free - it's not like you have a limited budget - so if you have several questions to ask about mounts, go ahead and ask several different questions. Combining them all into one glob-question is a bad use of the SE format. If you can ask about different defensive behaviours differently, it's best to do so.
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doppelgreenerJan 4 '13 at 22:02

1

@Phill.Zitt That's fine, if you're asking about that and want some specific details answered, but it might become cumbersome to require too many details at once - it would become like answering several independent questions together. There is no actual space being wasted here even if you do ask a few two-line questions (of which there are many).
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doppelgreenerJan 4 '13 at 22:29

1 Answer
1

There's nothing in the rules that mentions any sharing of reflex saves between mount and rider. Each rolls a separate reflex save. Unless it's stated specifically, a mount and rider do not share any abilities such as Evasion with each other, either.

To address the issue of realism clashing with the game rules, I don't think this is out of bounds with realism, either. While a reflex save is described as "moving out of the way", the act of rolling a reflex save doesn't grant any actual movement. Any movement that's used to describe the reflex save would be within your own space.

I can think of a lot of descriptive reasons why a mount that occupies a 10 foot square (such as a horse) would have a different save result as the rider, despite the mount moving the rider with it. Perhaps while the horse was moving to avoid a fireball, it left the rider more exposed? Perhaps part of the rider's successful save was using the horse for cover?

The relationship between the mount and rider also only applies to reflex saves if something specifically states it. If your character has a special mount that has an ability that allows its rider to use its reflex save, or its evasion ability, then it would apply.